Fab Formal
Savvy remembers trying on formal gowns in a women’s store where she had little privacy, which didn’t bother her but did bother the bored men sitting at the bottom of the stairs. (Apparently, they were shocked by her appearance in a bustier.) Such silliness isn’t a problem at Francesca’s Atelier, where women—i.e., the paying customers—can privately try on garments to their hearts’ content. “We understand women,” says owner Francesca Ripple, who’s had years in the biz at her eponymous bridal boutique, “and we know that a 50-year-old is different from a 20-year-old. She wants to look age-appropriate, but still fashionable. She doesn’t want to be smothered in chiffon.” Monique Lhuillier, Paula Varsalona and Theia are just some of the designers whose gowns and cocktail dresses await you in this new glam space. Green Spring Station, Lutherville, 443-841-7057
Finer Things
Savvy is gobsmacked by the swirl of color and texture in the new, 2,000-square-foot space of Samuel Parker Clothier. Twice as big as its former Lake Falls Village location, it still reflects owner Ken Himmelstein’s impeccable style, with English standards like Turnbull & Asser, Seaward & Stearn and Drake’s supplemented with new lines such as Breuer of Paris. Gentlemen, start your engines. Village of Cross Keys, 410-435-5000
Get Your Chic On
When Savvy discovered Canadian designer Frank Lyman in Montreal years ago, she flipped. So imagine her delight to find his vibrant prints and elegant shapes here in Charm City. Newly moved from Kenilworth to Cross Keys, Chic Chic Boutique is the dream child of Rosanna and Dario Sech, a husband-wife duo from Italy. In addition to Lyman’s nonpareil (and wrinkle-free!) clothing, they carry sumptuous watercolor frocks and versatile jackets by Marisamonti, party dresses by Rinascimento and Le Vertige, wool scarves hand-knitted by Rosanna herself and exotic, vintage-looking handbags by m. andonia—the latter spotted on Halle Berry and Jennifer Aniston. Babes from 25 to 75 will be happy shopping here. Village of Cross Keys, 410-435-0090
Man Up
Red chairs hanging from the walls? Vintage bicycle seats as hooks? Where am I? In the new mostly men’s store called Angel Park. Perhaps not the manliest name, Sav thinks, but who is she to question the marketing acumen of Toni James and her husband, Justin, who have made such a success of Katwalk next door? There are a few women’s items here, but Angel Park is full of Y chromosomes. High-end leather goods by Daniel Won, avant-garde Parisian styles by Billtornade, bow ties by Marshall Artist, even facial scrub by Man Cave—all sing a siren song to the guy who wants more than just T-shirts and jeans. 1707 Aliceanna St., Fells Point, 410-669-0600
